Such a Lazy Bid

Dlr: South� Vul: None

North  10  K J 4 3  10 8 6 3  A 8 7 5
West  A K 6 5  8 5  9 4 2  J 9 4 3 2	East  Q 9 8 4 3  10 9 6 2  K Q 6
South  J 7 2  A Q 7  A K Q J 7 5  10

5

1

1

3

5

3

West	North	East	South
	Pass	Pass	1
Pass	1	Pass	3
4!	Pass	Pass	4NT
5	Pass	6	Pass
5All Pass

When his partner leaped to� 3, Ralph realized that his hand might be golden. To check it out, he splintered to� 4 instead of settling for the diamond game.

When Ralph announced the singleton spade plus trump support, his partner realized the slam possibilities. If partner had as little as the CA and the HK – just seven high card points – slam would be cold. And why would Ralph splinter unless he had some useful cards?

So out came Blackwood, revealing the CA. That was enough – Ralph’s partner bid the slam for almost all the matchpoints. When Ralph discovered that most Norths had bid� 5, he shrugged and commented, “5 is such a lazy bid.”